Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)
Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 musical comedy directed by Frank Oz, starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, with a special appearance by Steve Martin and cameos by John Candy and Bill Murray. Plot The film opens with the words read by Stanley Jones: "On the twenty-third day of the month of September, in an early year of a decade not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. And this terrifying enemy surfaced, as such enemies often do, in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places..." A florist's nerdy young assistant named Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) is trying to store pots, but breaking them by accident. The day of an unexpected solar eclipse, Seymour discovers a mysterious new plant at a Chinese Flower Shop,(Da-Doo), which is later revealed to have come from outer space. He names the plant "Audrey II", because of his secret crush on his co-worker Audrey Fulquard (Ellen Greene). However, when the shop closes for the day, Seymour discovers that Audrey II is wilting from lack of food. It refuses to eat anything normal plants would feed on, such as soil, water and sunlight. Seymour accidentally cuts his finger and discovers that Audrey II has an appetite for human blood. (Grow for Me) As the plant thrives, business booms at Mr. Mushnik's (Vincent Gardenia) failing Skid Row flower shop, and Seymour becomes a local celebrity all because of his incredible plant. Eventually, the now-huge Audrey II (voiced by Levi Stubbs) begins to talk to Seymour, demanding more blood than Seymour can give. He convinces Seymour to kill Audrey's abusive and sadistic dentist boyfriend, Orin Scrivello, D.D.S(Steve Martin) and by promising him favors in return for feeding him, such as a new car and other wealthy privileges (Feed Me (Git It)). Seymour books an appointment with Dr. Scrivello and arms himself with a revolver. However, Orin, disappointed with his previous masochistic patient Arthur Denton (Bill Murray), decides to amuse himself by sniffing nitrous oxide. His gas mask malfunctions and Seymour allows him to die laughing hysterically from asphyxiation. Seymour drags Orin's body back to the flower shop, where he chops it up for the plant. He is in the middle of dismembering the body with an axe when Mr. Mushnik passes by the flower shop and witnesses it. He does not confront him, but runs off scared. Seymour feeds the body parts to the plant. After Seymour has spent a sleepless night, he discovers two policemen questioning Audrey about Orin's disappearance. She says that she feels guilty about Orin's death, even though she did not cause it, because she always secretly wished that he would die. Seymour tells Audrey that she is beautiful and shouldn't have such low self-esteem, and she realizes that she loves him back.(Suddenly Seymour) That night, Mushnik finds Seymour and accuses him of being an axe murderer. Seymour confesses that he chopped Orin up but denies that he killed him. Before leaving the store, Mushnik decides to bargain with Seymour, offering Seymour protection if he allows Mushnik to take care of the plant. Seymour is undecided and stands by while Mushnik investigates Audrey II and gets killed and swallowed whole by the carnivorous plant. Seymour's fortune continues to grow, and he becomes a media star, but he is very worried about Audrey II's growth and insatiable appetite. Seymour decides to leave town with Audrey, leaving the plant to starve to death. While Seymour momentarily leaves the shop, Audrey II telephones Audrey and asks her to come over, and then tries to eat her. Seymour saves her. They go out of the shop, and a salesman named Patrick Martin (James Belushi) from World Botanical Enterprises offers to breed Audrey II and make a fortune by selling the plant to families around the world. Seymour, frightened, realizes that Audrey II must be destroyed before more lives are lost. Seymour confronts and fights the gigantic plant, who now has little offspring in tow. Audrey II bursts out of his pot and reveals to Seymour that he's in fact an alien from outer space (Mean Green Mother from Outerspace). After brawling with Seymour, Audrey II manages to latch onto the store's support beams and yank the shop to pieces, assuming he's killed Seymour thanks to mass amounts of debris and bricks crushing him. Luckily, Seymour's arms burst through the rubble in which he has been buried and grab two broken exposed electrical wires, which he uses to shock the massive plant, causing Audrey II to blow up. Seymour and Audrey wed and move to the suburbs, but as the credits start to roll we see a little smiling Audrey III bud in front of their picket fence. The film then ends. Director's Cut Ending The original ending for this movie followed the plot of the musical, featuring the death of Audrey and Seymour, and the plants taking over the world in a multi-million dollar special FX extravaganza. This ending scored stupendously low with test audiences, and thus it was removed, with initials plans to use the FX sequence for a sequel that never materialized.Cinfantastique, Volume 17, No. 5 (September 1987)New York Magazine, September 22, 1986 However, it briefly blipped on DVD as an extra in 1998, and it was later reinstated in a "Director's Cut" of the film. Characters *Seymour Krelborn *Audrey Fulquard *Audrey II *Mr. Mushnik *Crystal, Ronette, Chiffon *Orin Scrivello, D.D.S *Patrick Martin *Wink Wilkinson *Arthur Denton *Mrs. Shiva (Mentioned only) *1st Customer *Chinese Flower Shop Owner *Several Customers *Several "Skid Row" Residents *radio station employees *Girl from the dentist office Songs |-|Songs= These are the songs featured in the film and in virtually every instance they were condensed, extended or otherwise altered on the soundtrack album. *Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors) *Skid Row (Downtown) *Da-Doo *Grow for Me *Somewhere That's Green *Some Fun Now *Dentist! *Feed Me (Git It) *Suddenly Seymour *Suppertime *The Meek Shall Inherit *Mean Green Mother from Outer Space *Finale (Don't Feed the Plants) (Director's Cut ending) |-|Unused Demos= These songs exist in varying drafts of the script and on demo/unused recordings. *Thundercrash *A Salute to Vegetables *Bad (Like Me) *Your Day Begins Tonight *Crystal, Ronnette & Chiffon Production Development Rumors of a film version began to circulate soon after the play opened, with Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg producing, Martin ScorseseCinefantastique, Volume 14, No 2 (December 1983/January 1984), "Little Shop of Horrors: Corman's now-classic B-Film ends up on stage - and in court" by Dennis Fischer or Barbara Streisandhttp://barbra-archives.com/bjs_library/80s/lhj_84.html Ladies' Home Journal August 1984: What's next for Barbra? directing, and it was even rumored that it may be shot in 3-D.People - Jaws 3D is the Great White Hope for a Resurging Fad That May Again Go Belly-Up Howard Ashman began outlining a screenplay in November 1982, and completed a first draft in December 1983.The Library of Congress: Howard Ashman papers, 1973-2010 Ashman had been partially inspired to write the show based on the then-overwhelming popularity of Muppets' star Miss Piggy,Chicago Tribune: Howard Ashman And `Little Shop`: How A Good Idea Can Grow And Grow so the man behind the pig, Frank Oz, was approached early on, but he turned it down. "I said no, I couldn’t do it, because I didn’t really have a way in — a cinematic way in," Oz recalled.'Little Shop of Horrors: A Q&A with Frank Oz Soon after, Oz realized that he could use the show's urchins, Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon, as a Greek chorus to frame the narrative, and he wrote his own revision of the script in November 1984, cutting unnecessary dialogue and dropping the songs Mushnik & Son,Collider: Frank Oz on ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Original Ending, ‘The Dark Crystal’ and Jim Henson Closed for Renovation and Now (It's Just the Gas). Ashman and producer David Geffen were so enamored with Oz's script that Ashman went to work cranking out three more revisions over the next three months. Casting The role of Seymour was basically handed to Rick Moranis. "Before we had even started the process, I always wanted Rick Moranis for Seymour," producer David Geffen recalled.A Story of Little Shop of Horrors I ran into him at a concert and said 'You're gonna star in my movie.' He actually was the only person I ever considered." The attraction for Moranis was the opportunity to sing. "Until now, I'd been limited to mostly parody," he said,Little Shop of Horrors press kit - Production Information referring to Tom Monroe, his lounge-singing recurring character on "SCTV." For the role of Audrey, Warner Bros. wanted to cast a celebrity, and some of the names bandied about included Streisand, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, who reportedly was offered the part but had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.IMDb: Little Shop of Horrors trivia Ellen Greene, who'd originated the part Off-Broadway and performed it for a solid two years in New York, Los Angeles and London productions,Chicago Tribune: Role Enchants 'Little Shop' Star was told that the part was hers when John Landis was set to direct the movie,Cinefantastique, Volume 17, No. 1 (January 1987) but the situation changed when Frank Oz came aboard. Greene's then-boyfriend Marty Robinson, who had worked on Sesame Street and created/puppeteered Audrey II for the original stage version, introduced them and encouraged Oz to give her the part. Although she had a little bit of screen experience, the bulk of her career had been relegated to live stage performance. "They wanted to know how I could handle the lip-syncing," she said. A screen test was set up,eBay: Little Shop of Horrors 35mm screen test Rick Moranis Ellen Greene Frank Oz 1986 and she was so dazzling and performed such perfect lipsync on "Somewhere That's Green" that Oz phoned two weeks later to inform her she had the part. "I just screamed!" she exclaimed. "I was proud of what I had achieved on stage with Audrey, but I was convinced they would go for a name actress." Oz later remarked, "I couldn’t imagine any other Audrey." Nearly 1,000 young women auditioned for the roles of urchins Crytal, Ronnette and Chiffon,L.A. Times: 'Little Shop' Turns Into A Delight For Doo-wop Trio with teenagers Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold paired up for several of their auditions and Michelle Weeks replacing the third auditioning actresses a little later. All New York natives, the girls were each roughly a year apart in age, but familiar with one another from school and various performance ventures. "It was really just a coincidence that we already knew each other," Weeks said. Arnold was on the verge of moving to Los Angeles for TV pilot season, but fate had other plans for the young actress, who would soon find herself on the other side of the world shooting a movie. Rounding out the cast as Mr. Mushnik was Vincent Gardenia, who claimed he got the job because "Frank Oz liked my name," and Hollywood heavyweight Steve Martin as sadistic dentist Orin. In cameos, popular comedy star John Candy had worked extensively with Moranis on "SCTV," and Moranis had co-starred with and directed Paul Dooley in "Strange Brew" (though Dooley was unavailable for the reshoot and his role was given to James Belushi). Geffen explicitly requested Bill Murray for the masochistic dental patientMTV News - Frank Oz Reopens his 'Little Shop of Horrors' and Christopher Guest had just completed his one-season run as a regular SNL cast member, and presumably caught Geffen's attention in the modestly-successful future cult classic "This Is Spinal Tap." Pre-Production During a production meeting with Ashman and Oz, Geffen recounted the tale of "Risky Business," a film which originally ended on a bleak note and scored low with test audiences.NY Times: On the Go with David Geffen He suggested writing a new happy ending in which the boy gets the girl and they live happily ever after, but Ashman countered that letting Seymour survive after feeding humans to the plant would leave him on "morally shaky ground." Geffen wanted to shoot the movie close to home in Los Angeles, but Oz, who'd worked extensively in England with Jim Henson on various Muppet productions, wanted to shoot there - and in a real-life Fozzie Bear moment, he cowed as if he was about to be fired on the spot for making such an audacious suggestion to Geffen. Oz's instincts were on the mark with the currency exchange rate such as it was at the time, which was supposed to save the company $4 million in production costs. A budget was set at $18 million, but reports claimed it had doubled by the time initial filming wrapped,AFI Catalog and an additional $2 million was spent for reshoots. Coincidentally, $38 million is also what it took in at the box office.Box Office Mojo Other estimates claim it cost $25Mental Floss: 11 Bloodthirsty Facts About Little Shop of Horrors and $26 million, and Oz once remarked that it cost $30 million,YouTube - Frank Oz Introduction And Q&A From "Little Shop Of Horrors Screening" At BAM so a precise budget is difficult to tally. Some preliminary audio tracks with the cast were recorded in April, but the playback soundtrack was recorded in July under the direction of Robby Merkin (who'd orchestrated the original New York productionsBroadway World Credits: Robby Merkin) and "Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons" member Bob Gaudio. Ashman had committed himself to a 1986 flop Broadway adaptation of the 1975 film "Smile," but he frequently corresponded with the crew. Sets were erected in the world's largest soundstage, the 007 building at Pinewood Studios. Promotion A Story of Little Shop of Horrors In 1987, The Geffen Film Company released a promotional TV special featuring a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew members. It has been included as an extra on virtually every home video release around the world since 1998. Galleries On desktop devices, use the tabs to toggle between the various galleries. |-|Production Stills & Screen-Caps= Little_Shop_Horrors_Screenshot_0052.jpg|Title card Little_Shop_Horrors_Screenshot_0066.jpg|A black cat replaces the orange one seen in some workprints Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Michelle Weeks, Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell.jpg|The Urchins WSKID.jpg|Skid Row Radio with Weird Wink Wilkinson Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Audrey II sings Feed Me.jpg|Feed Me! LSOH 06.jpg|Does this look inanimate to you, punk? Little Shop of Horrors 1986 - Rick Moranis and Audrey II 02.jpg Little Shop of Horrors 1986 - Rick Moranis and Audrey II.jpg Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Audrey II Bites the hand that feeds him.jpg|Biting the hand that feeds you! Little Shop of Horrors - Steve Martin and Rick Moranis 01.jpg|The kid's got a revolver! Little Shop of Horrors - Rick Moranis and Steve Martin's Head.jpg|Giving Orin head Ellen Greene Rick Moranis.jpg|Suddenly, Seymour Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene sing Suddenly, Seymour.jpg|Suddenly, Seymour Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Rick Moranis & Ellen Greene as Seymour & Audrey - Happy Ending.jpg|Happy Ending Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Audrey II eats Seymour (Rick Moranis).jpg|Seymour filet! Little Shop of Horrors - Don't Feed the Plants.jpg|Don't Feed the Plants! Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Audrey II Terrorizes the Train.jpg|Audrey II attacks NYC |-|Screen Tests= Ellen Green - Little Shop of Horrors Screen Test 01.jpg|Ellen Greene Screen Test Ellen Green - Little Shop of Horrors Screen Test 02.jpg|Ellen Greene Screen Test Ellen Green - Little Shop of Horrors Screen Test 03.jpg|Ellen Greene Screen Test Ellen Green - Little Shop of Horrors Screen Test 05.jpg|Ellen Greene Screen Test Little Shop of Horrors - Rick Moranis Screen Test 01.jpg|Rick Moranis Screen Test Little Shop of Horrors - Rick Moranis Screen Test 03.jpg|Rick Moranis Screen Test Little Shop of Horrors - Rick Moranis Screen Test 02.jpg|Rick Moranis Screen Test |-|Behind-the-Scenes= Little Shop of Horrors Frank Oz 01.jpg|Director Frank Oz Little Shop of Horrors Frank Oz 02.jpg|Frank Oz Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Chris Ostwald engineers Audrey II.jpg|Mechanical designer Chris Oswalt Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Lyle Conway, Frank Oz & Audrey II.jpg|Audrey II designer Lyle Conway & Frank Oz Little Shop of Horrors - Behind the Scenes with Audrey II.jpg.jpg|Behind the scenes with Audrey II and Frank Oz Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Rick Moranis, Audrey II, Brian Henson.jpg|Filming "Feed Me (Git It)" Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Audrey II creator Lyle Conway.jpg|Lyle Conway with his creation Behindaudrey2.jpg Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - Frank Oz and Rick Moranis.jpg|Frank Oz & Rick Moranis Little Shop of Horrors Lyle Conway and Steve Martin's Head.jpg|From A Story of Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop Ping Pong Paddle Pod Stand-Ins.jpg|Pod Stand-Ins Little Shop 1st Customer Slate 12 November 1985.jpg Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell Martin, Little Shop of Horrors.jpg Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, Tisha Campbell Martin, Little Shop of Horrors Some Fun Now.jpg Audrey II Sate 21 May 1986.jpg Steve Martin Blue Screen Little Shop of Horrors.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Ellen Greene & Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Steve Martin cuts his hand.jpg Frank Oz Somewhere That's Green.jpg Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Rick Moranis, Frank Oz.jpg |-|Lobby Cards= Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 01 Michelle Weeks Tischa Campbell Tichina Arnold.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 02 Ellen Greene, Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 03 Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Ellen Greene.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 04 Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 05 Audrey II.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 06 Steve Martin.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 07 Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Lobby Card 08 Vincent Gardenia.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 01 Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 11 Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 10 Steve Martin, Michelle Weeks, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 09 John Candy & Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 05 Vincent Gardenia, Michelle Weeks, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 08 Rick Moranis and Audrey II.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 06 Steve Martin.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 02 Audrey II.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 04 Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 12 Ellen Greene, Rick Moranis.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 03 Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Ellen Greene.jpg Little Shop of Horrors Spanish Lobby Card 07 Vincent Gardenia.jpg |-|Posters= Little Shop of Horrors 1986 A Poster.jpg|"A" Poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 B Poster.jpg|"B" Poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Japanese Poster.jpg|Japanese Poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Australian Lobby Card Poster.jpg|Australian Lobby Card Poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 - Eddie Holly Poster.jpg|Eddie Holly fan poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Ken Taylor Poster.jpg|Ken Taylor fan poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Poster Spain.jpg|Spanish Poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Poster France.jpg|French Poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Australian Daybill Poster.jpg|Australian Daybill Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Poster Italy.jpg|Italian Poster Little Shop of Horrors (1986) German Home Video Poster.jpg|German Home Video Poster Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Brazilian Poster.jpg|Brazilian Poster Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Warner Home Video Hanging Mobile Display.jpg|Hanging Display Little-shop-of-horrors-movie-logo.png|Logo References Category:1986 movie Category:Little Shop Of Horrors Category:Films